The Aerostars Prepare for Rockford Airfest

The Aerostars Prepare for Rockford Airfest

POPLAR GROVE- A military aerobatic airplane, called a Yak-52, will dazzle crowds at this weekend's Rockford airiest. It’s flown by Left Wing Pilot Paul Hornick.

He’s part of the Aerostars; team that's been flying together for more than a decade.

"It’s a team effort. You can't go and do your own thing. To pull it off requires all three of us working in harmony to make the formation look as though it's one aircraft," said Hornick.

Eyewitness News took to the skies previewing part of the Aerostars air show routine. Hornick performed stunts like loops, barrel rolls, and hammer heads.

He says the group prides themselves on flying no more than three feet from each other during shows. "Aerial ballet type of formation flying, it's the precision the closeness we fly sets us a part from a lot of the other civilian teams out there," explained Hornick.

They’ll perform amongst thirteen other teams at Rockford Airfest. A two-day show that was grounded in 2013 because of the government sequester is now taking off once again.

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